Internal combustion engine.



L. I. BERGDOLL.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION mm use. 2. 1912.

1,271,419. Patented July 2, 1918.

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L. l. BEBGDOLL.

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APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2, I912 Patented July 2,1918. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- LOUIS J. BERGDOLL, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1918.

Application filed December 2, 1912. Serial No. 734,530.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis J. BERGDOLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention pertains particularly to that type of internal-combustion engines in which a single rotary-valve passage is employed for each cylinder to control admission of combustible charges and exhaust of spent gas.

One vital disadvantage and difiiculty in the employment of rotary valves as heretofore arranged in this type of engine is that during the periods of successive burning of combustible charges the valve is subjected to such intense heat that the valve and the walls of the casing or other part in which it rotates are so burnt eventually that the valve loses its ability to form a fluid-tight shut-ofl" between the cylinder and the admission and exhaust passages and the efficiency of the engine is thereby materially lessened.

In order to avoid these conditions, by this invention the parts so relatively are arranged and constructed that during the period of ignition and combustion of a charge, which is the period of the greatest heat in the operation of en 'nes of this class, a fluid-tight barrier is firmed by the body of the piston between the valve and the portion of the cylinder in which ignition and combustion take place.

When read in connection with the description herein, the details of construction and arrangement of parts contemplated by the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein a preferable embodiment of the invention is disclosed, for purposes of illustration.

While the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings now is preferred, it is to be understood that it is not the intention to be limited necessarily to the precise delineation herein in interpretation of claims hereinafter, as it is obvious that changes can be made within the limits prescribed by the claims without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention.

Like reference-characters refer to corresponding parts in the views of the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a sectional view of an engine in which my invention is embodied, the section being taken on a line transverse of the engine and longitudinal of the cylinder;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on a line transverse of the cylinders and longitudinal of the engine, illustrative of the disposition of the distributer-shaft with respect to a plurality of cylinders; and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the distributorshaft, showing the several positions of the passage thereof.

Having more particular reference to the drawings, 4 deslgnates a crank-case, 5 a crank, 6 a pitman, and 7 a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine. the cvlinder having in its head 8 a suitable chargeigniting device, such as a spark-plug 9, and being provided with the usual cooling-jacket 10 therearound.

Reciprocable within the cylinder and connected to pitman 6 is an elongated cylindrical piston 11, which has near its head and at other places inset in its peripheral surface a plurality of piston-rings 12 in fluidtight contact with the interior surface of the cylinder, whereby leakage of fluid between the piston' and cylinder is prevented. The piston is devoid of any passages. ports, or the like that are capable of affording communication with any port in the cylinder.

A single port 13, for admission and exhaust of fluids. opens into the cylinder at its side. This port is placed in such position in the side of the cylinder distant from the cylinder-head that the piston-head and piston-rings adjacent thereto are between the port and the cylinder-head and the port is covered by the side of the piston during the last part of an upward stroke and the first part of a downward stroke of the piston, within which period of action ignition and combustion occur. Thus the piston during this period of operation constitutes a fluidtight barrier between the port and the portion of the cylinder interior within which ignition and combustion occur and intense heat is generated, and during this period of great est heat the valve, yet to be described, that controls flow of fluid through the port is completely isolated from the heat area and protected from injury by heat action.

The walls of the cylinder are integrally and laterally extended to constitute upper and lower walls 14- and side walls 15 of the port 13, which latter is elongated and extends around about one-third the circumference ot the cylinder. and the upper and lower walls are further extended as circular walls 16 forming parts of a casing within which is rotatably mounted a distributer-shal't 17. The distributer-shatt, when supplied with luln-icant, terms a fluid-tight joint wiih its casing. The side walls 13 are turned laterally and merged with sin'iilarly-turned walls of other cylinders to form walls 18 eonstitut ing parts of the (l.l 3t1lbl1t0l'- lltlft a ing and separating the port and associated parts of one cylinder from those of another. The distributer-shatt extends longitudinally of the engine through the number of such casings that there are cylinders in the engine, as eX- emplitied by Fig. 2. The walls of the coollugacket also are extended to form a u e tension 19 within which are confined the dis tributer-sliaft and associated parts. In this extension and leading to the distributor-- shaft is an elongated inlet-port 20 extending from end to end of the series of cylinders, and leading from the distributer-shaft there is an elongated eXhaust-port 21 also extending from end to end of the series of cylinders. The inlet and exhaust ports throughout their length are separated by an abutment 2:2, which contacts with, and forms a part of the cylindrical casing of, the distributer-shaft. The coolingjacket is contiguous to the distributersh-att and ports, as indicated by 10, 10 and 10.

The distributor-shaft has therein a diametrical passage extending therethrough for every cylinder, for the purpose of aftording (OllillllilliCfltiOll periodically between the engine-port l3 and the inlet and ex haust ports. The distribuler-shaft is driven in any suitable manner so that it shall have positive and 1'9. ilar rotation at onemirth the speed of the crank-shaft l the engine the t is, so that it will make one complete ro tation with very four revolutions ot the crank. In other words, the regulator-shaft has comparatively slow motion with respect to the crank-shaft.

The parts are shown in the positions they have when the piston has completed a compression stroke, the position of the regulatorshaft passage at this time being designated by A, Fig. 3.

Four cycles of operation of one piston and of the regulator-shaft passage thereof, as an example of the continuous operation of all pistons ot' a multiple-piston engine, new are described. I

The compressed combustible charge has been ignited within the period of the last part of the upward stroke and the first part of the downward stroke of the piston, the

particular instant of ignition, of course. be-

ing dependent upon the speed for which the timer has been set. During this period, the pistoierings adjacent to the pi ton-head form a fluid-tight joint with the cylinder surface at a place between the port 13 leading to the regulator-shaft and the space between the piston-head and the eylinderhead, within which pace combustion occurs, and in this manner the piston constitutes a fiuid-tight barrier that prevents access of llame and intense heat incident to combustion to the regulator-shaft. The piston now makes a working stroke, during which the regulator-shaft rotates to bring its passage to the position indicated by B, in which position the passage atlords communication between the engine-port and the exhaust-port.

The piston now makes an exhaust-stroke, and the spent gases are exhausted. By the end of the exhaust stroke. the regulatorshaft passage has moved to the position indicated by C, where it is closed by abutment 22.

A charge-intake stroke of the piston now occurs, during which the regulator-shaft passage moves from the position of closure by abutment 22 past inlet-port 20 to position of closure by walls 14, as indicated by D, and a charge is drawn in while the passage is passing the inlet-port.

A compression stroke now occurs, by the end of which the parts are in the positions they had at the beginning of this description of operation and ready for a Working stroke.

It will be noted that during the time the crank-shaft is making two rotations in four cycles of operation, the regulator-shaft is making only one-half rotation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an internal-combustion engine, the combination of reciprocable pistons, 21 series of cylinders within which said pistons operate and in the side wall of each of which is a single port for admission and exhaust of fluids, an extension disposed along the side of said series of cylinders and into which lead said engine-ports and said extension having a single elongated admissionport and a single elongated exhaust-port extending approximately from end to end thereof, and in said extension a rotary distributer-shaft having therein for each cylinder a single passage capable of simultaneous registry with the port thereof and either the admission or exhaust port.

2. In an internal-combustion engine, the combination of reciprocable pistons, a series of cylinders within which said pistons operate and in the side Wall of each of which is a single port for admission and exhaust of fluids, an extension disposed along the side of said series of cylinders and into which lead said cylinder-ports, and said extension having oppositelydisposed elongated admission and exhaust ports separated by an abutment and extending approximately from end to end thereof, and in said extension a rotary distributer-shaft having therein for each cylinder a single passage capable of simultaneous registry with the port thereof and either the admission or exhaust port.

3. In an internal-combustion engine, the combination of reciprocable pistons, a series of cylinders within which said pistons operate and in the side Wall of each of which is a single port for admission and exhaust of fluids, a cooling-jacket for said series of cylinders, integral and lateral extension of the walls of the cylinders and cooling-jacket forming a distributer-shaft Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cent: each, by addressing casing extending longitudinally of the scrics of cylinders and having said cylinden ports opening thereto, said casing having oppositelydisposed elongated admission and exhaust ports separated by an abutment and extending approximately from end to end thereof, and in said casing a rotary distributer-shaft having therein for each cylin der a single passage capable of simultaneous registry with the port thereof and either the admission or exhaust port.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS J. BERGDOLL.

W'itnesses:

JOHN MAHN TmssELL, HARRY C. KOHLHAS.

the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G." 

